Front-side interconnected large area concentrator cells for compact concentrator modules

Wiesenfarth, Maike; Steiner, Marc; Helmers, Henning; Siefer, Gerald; Oliva, E.; Dimroth, Frank; Shelef, Gil; Polonsky, Guy; Flitsanov, Yuri; Kribus, Abraham; Bett, Andreas W.

doi:10.1063/1.4753869

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Therefore, interconnection schemes were investigated aiming for higher packaging factors in the dense array. The investigated options are front contacted solar cells, 176 back contacted cells (metal wrap around 177 or metal wrap through 178 ), monolithic interconnected modules (MIMs), [179][180][181] and interconnection by shingling cells. 182 In Fig.…”

Section: Active Heat Distribution With Dense Arraysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in the design of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules to achieve highest efficiencies

Wiesenfarth

Antón

Bett

2018

Applied Physics Reviews

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Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) is a special high efficiency system technology in the world of PV-technologies. The idea of CPV is to use optical light concentrators to increase the incident power on solar cells. The solar cell area is comparatively tiny, thus saving expensive semiconductor materials and allowing the use of more sophisticated and more costly multi-junction solar cells. The highest CPV module efficiency achieved is 38.9%. This CPV module uses four-junction III-Vbased solar cells. Moreover, mini-modules have already achieved an efficiency of 43.4%. The interaction between optics, cells, and layout of the module and tracker determines the overall field performance. Today, some utility scale CPV plants are installed. The CPV technology allows for many technical solutions for system designs and for optimizing performance while maintaining the economics. This paper will review the achievements and discuss the challenges for the CPV module technology and its components. We discuss the different components and the most important effects regarding the module design. Furthermore, we present the module designs that have shown the highest efficiencies.

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Section: Active Heat Distribution With Dense Arraysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in the design of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules to achieve highest efficiencies

Wiesenfarth

Antón

Bett

2018

Applied Physics Reviews

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“…Existing literature regarding the application of a homogenizer in a solar dish system includes measurements of a dense array CPV receiver with a homogenizer [8], general theoretical analysis [16], and idealized optical simulations [17]. Recently, the influence of mutual shading of neighboring dishes in a dense field on homogenizer performance has been analyzed using an idealized situation [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is especially the case for parabolic dish systems. However, in principle, for a given inhomogeneous flux distribution, it is possible to design a receiver with an optimized geometry and electrical interconnection scheme for maximal power output [7][8][9][10]. Additionally, it is possible to optimize the shape (and configuration) of the reflector(s) to generate a homogeneous flux profile [11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In point-focus-based CPV systems, sunlight is collected by an array of small optics (lenses or mirrors), in which each optic concentrates the light onto a single solar cell [3][4][5]. In an alternative technological approach, namely in central receiver systems, large parabolic dish reflectors or fields of heliostats are used to concentrate the light onto a comparably large, dense array photovoltaic receiver [6][7][8]. This technology requires active cooling of the central photovoltaic receiver, which enables the utilization of generated heat in addition to the electrical power output.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optical analysis of deviations in a concentrating photovoltaics central receiver system with a flux homogenizer

et al. 2013

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The application of a kaleidoscope as a flux homogenizer to a concentrating photovoltaics system with a central receiver is investigated. The optical setup of a primary dish-type concentrator, a secondary homogenizer optics, and a photovoltaic receiver is simulated using ray tracing. The influence of various deviations from the ideal-namely sunshape (circumsolar radiation), shading, tracking error, and shape of the primary optical concentrator-on the performance of the homogenizer is analyzed quantitatively using the optical efficiency and the normalized standard deviation as a measure of inhomogeneity. Flux distributions for different progressively increasing deviations are discussed qualitatively. Experimental validation of the simulation is presented. It is demonstrated that the performance of the homogenizer is not particularly sensitive to sunshape. If sufficient length is provided, the homogenizer effectively compensates for tracking error, misalignment, and shape deviations of the primary concentrator. Yet despite the presence of the homogenizer, shading due to the holder of the receiver significantly affects the flux distribution at the receiver.

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“…One of the challenges is that both emitter and base contacts must be on the same side of the wafer, which is not straightforward for the state‐of‐the‐art InGaP/InGaAs/Ge structure. Wiesenfarth et al proposed front‐contacted InGaP/InGaAs/Ge cells that use a back‐surface lateral conductive layer to minimize the bulk Ge contribution to resistive losses due to the large dimensions of the cells 8 . However, these cells were interconnected using the conventional wirebonding technique (i.e., nonmonolithic assembly).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three‐junction monolithic interconnected modules for concentrator photovoltaics

Albert

Jaouad

Hamon

et al. 2021

Progress in Photovoltaics

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A core issue in concentrator photovoltaic technology (CPV) is the resistive losses in cells that usually limits the maximum photoconversion efficiency under high concentration. We propose the use of three‐junction monolithic interconnected modules (MIM) to mitigate resistive losses by providing high‐voltage low‐current power. First, we present the fabrication of InGaP/InGaAs/Ge front‐contacted microcells with various designs and dimensions. Front‐contacted cells are the key enabler for the MIM fabrication and demonstrate good electrical characteristics under one sun, similar to standard‐contacted cells. The base front contact size is minimized to limit the unutilized area on the wafer. Second, fabrication techniques for interconnecting cells in MIM are described. Finally, electrical measurements show a record conversion efficiency of 35.1% under 798 suns for the first three‐junction MIM reported (17.8% when considering the entire device area). Versatility and further optimization of the devices are discussed to enlarge their field of application.

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Front-side interconnected large area concentrator cells for compact concentrator modules

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Challenges in the design of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules to achieve highest efficiencies

Challenges in the design of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules to achieve highest efficiencies

Optical analysis of deviations in a concentrating photovoltaics central receiver system with a flux homogenizer

Three‐junction monolithic interconnected modules for concentrator photovoltaics

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